Max Trial 3
by DeltaPapaLastCharlie
Summary: The third sequel to my first story, inspired by Fire Emblem, Skyrim, and Max Payne.


Max Trial 3

Standing on the bow of the ship as it rose up and down on the waves below foaming as the waves broke before

the ship. Cold winds drove the ship onward as the ice formed around the masts and cross planks.

The man stood alone against the roar of the ocean like a lone stone that the waves beat against, his gaze

unwavering as he watched the coastline form. The snow covered pines in the distance as the setting sun's light

reﬂected in the distance. The raising darkness creating a perfect contrast to itself.

One one side the stars and darkness rising against a violently painted sky of red, yellow, and orange. The large star

setting along the western skyline as the moon rose on the eastern, magniﬁcently setting a deep yellow against a

pure white. The Golden Moment of Omnipotence, a small moment that last for no more than a moment marking

the end of winter and the arrival of spring.

He stood watching the moment from the bow of a ship in this armada coming home, his eyes as cold as the air

around him. He glanced towards the landmass with some contempt, the world had changed and the bells were not

tolling, no ﬁres to mark the day, to commemorate the moment. He thought bitterly, The ﬁrst marking of his triumph

has been revealed. Even I, a child of the masses have taken note.

He sighed to himself quietly, heading below deck the men. The men who crewed the ship were by no means the

most reﬁned people he had ever met but they weren't the most vulgar either. His eyes of ice pierced every nook

and cranny looking for some hidden artifact or person awaiting him.

His cabin was small but it kept everything he needed within it's conﬁnes. No window to look out but that didn't

matter. There were no leaks, no overly foul smells, and no people. The ship would pull into the harbor after night

had fallen, not that it mattered to him.

Pulling out a rucksack with a very a name sewed in big blocky letters; Maximus C. Stronghold. He opened it pulling

out items and placing them on the cot.

'Two ﬂint and steel, rope, hammer, hunting knife, crowbar, thirty lockpicks, ten pitons, ten unlit torches, and a

bedroll.' He said silently to himself, 'One waterskin, about thirty days of rations with about one hundred-eighty gold

pieces and a letter. Heavy crossbow with twenty bolts, longsword, morningstar, and warhammer. Plate armor,

tower shield, and two sets of clothes a ﬁne set and a nondescript set.'

'This is becoming a regular habit of yours, Captain.' A man in the doorway said to him, 'Nervous about returning to

civilian life.'

The man counting out his gear looked up from his work and regarded the man in the doorway for a moment. The

man had unkempt hair and beard giving him a rough look about him. He was tall, sturdy, and never felt the need to

keep to himself.

'Sad to say but yes I am nervous, Dan.' Max admitted to his friend, 'All I've ever known is discipline and rules. When

the war started, I left a girlfriend behind. She almost picked up her stuff and requested a transfer to my battalion.'

'She's military, too?' Dan asked incredulously, 'You never will leave the military life will you.'

'Shut up.' Max responded, 'So, what about you, Mr. Ranger? Got something up your sleeves'

'When my contract's up I'm going to apply my skills in the private sectors.' Dan said, 'I've hear that you've got some

plans for when you get back?'

'Planning? Me? No, I haven't got any plans.' Max said sarcastically

'So, what are you planning?' Dan asked, 'Anything special?'

The way he said special made Max raise an eyebrow. Dan knew. He didn't want to be the one to say it but he knew.

'Stop. I'll cross that bridge when I get there but I still have a long road to traverse before I get there.' Max said, then

added, 'Meaning I have no idea what I'm going to say to her.'

'Yeah, thought so.' Dan said, grin breaking out across his face, 'It's been what? Fifteen years Since you last saw

her?'

'Seventeen years, one hundred and nine days, fourteen hours, seven minutes, twenty ﬁve seconds.' Max

responded, looking down and away from Dan now, ', but I've got assigned to another detail. I get that it done, and

then it's a matter of ﬁnding her in the capital city.'

Dan looked as if a bull were charging at him, 'She got transferred to the capital? She doesn't know does she?'

'She didn't need to know. In fact, no one but you does. If I get this detail done. I can enter the city again.' Max said,

nodding to himself, guilt in his face. A loud crash brought him back to his senses, back to his professional,

'Sergeant Headstrong, can you see the source of that noise and split them up immediately?'

'Yes, Captain. Nam Imperatum' He responded in the same sense, turning about and marching off to ﬁnd the

scufﬂe. Leaving Max to him and his gear again.

A ﬁgure stood in the tower watching the ﬁrst four ships come in, The man was tall, broad shouldered and dressed

in black. His face was hidden by the cowl covering his face. His eyes set on one ship coming in. The ship was the

Eclipse, The largest Imperial Transport. Two hundred meters long, ﬁve decks high above water, and ﬁve masts. The

Eclipse was always the ﬁrst to dock and unload.

Max stood in the center of the ship. Walking between lines of soldiers standing in formation. Their packs were at

their sides and they awaited orders. Like statues in posture Max stepped around them. Heading to a raised

platform

'Marines! This has been a time that the Empire may never forget! We left for war and brought every level of hell

that's ever been dreamed of to our enemies! We are home but we are not done!' He said to the men, pulling out a

piece of paper and reading off it, 'The thirteenth are to disembark at Seven Hills Bay and are to remain there till

spring!' He paused as some cries of outrage rose from them before continuing. 'The wage of the thirteenth will be

doubled for this duration as they will be completing courses and projects that will beneﬁt their lives and the lives

of their families forever! Signed Captain Arazin of the Imperial War council.'

Pockets of soldiers began to whisper silently to each other. Many of the men nodded their heads in agreement

with the orders. Some of them looked discontented but that was to be expected. Luke Fasthands, a Sergeant of

the thirteenth and a friend of Max's came to Max and had to know.

'How'd you get this deal pulled off, Max?' He asked him, under his breath.

'It took me months of negotiating, but I got the item through.' He whispered back, 'I wanted you guys trained for

eighteen months with triple pay but they wouldn't have it, but six months of being taught more than just ﬁghting is

better than nothing, so.'

The ramps came down on the ship and Max gave the word and they ﬁled off the ship in perfect march. Max

followed them off the ship. His gear on his back, he walked into the ofﬁcer's quarters and claimed a free bunk.

The dark man watched as he unpacked his things, silently stepping forwards taking every precaution to avoid any

possible creaks. He was almost on top of him when a ringing of steel stopped him. A longsword in his hands, Max

faced the dark man.

'You've gotten quite lax in your stealth.' Max told him, 'I noticed you the second I came through the door.'

'Usually, soldiers aren't so keen of their surroundings, Max.' The dark man told him.

Putting the sword down, Max pulled the man in giving him a one arm hung with his right arm and the man

reciprocated. Max then went back to unpacking his weapons, sheathing his longsword

"So, why did you call me, here?" The man in dark armor asked, "I had hoped it would be to reminisce but your last

letter sounded off?"

Max stopped packing, his shoulders stiffened, his gaze to not leave the gear remaining. The dark armored man

sensing he was passing an obvious checkpoint retreated a step. Max shook his head and turned towards him.

"I'm not done yet." He said, "I have orders, but I can't tell you them."

"Sounds like my kind of work." He responded curiously, "What do you need?"

Max leaned forward and told him. The blood ran out of the armored man's face.

Far away, She stood in an open empty room watching the ships enter the harbor. She was by no means plain. She

watched eyes intent on one ﬁgure. A lone ﬁgure on a platform above soldiers, his voice carried across the harbor

as she listened to his words. His men loved him. He heard it in their replies. Even when he told them of the

inconvenience their replies were not of hatred. She could not help but remember their games when they trained

together at Soran.

He was a brutal tactician. There was a game they played together, Operation. Little ﬁgurines you placed around a

board with self creating natural obstacles, the goal was to beat your opponent. There was a tournament. Everyone

was required to play, the goal was to sort and place potential ofﬁcers from soldiers. She had been a skilled player,

easily beating most opponents, then in this a quiet ass sits across from me in the ﬁnal round. He says nothing to

me but good luck. I say, you're going to need it. Then we shake hands and the round begins. She placed her troops

ﬁrst and watched as he placed his.

Her strategy involved utilizing the ﬂattest terrain possible to fully apply the heavy cavalry. Shock Troopers

following to crush any remaining troops. Archers weren't her strong suit so she ﬁled no applications of them in her

strategy. Hers was an open battle. One goes in and one exits in a glorious standing.

His on the other hand, was based in patience. Max had taken advantage of a thicket and stream that she would

have to force her troops through. He had no heavy infantry, only medium remain dotted behind a line of defensive

barricades and archers lay just behind them.

The tournament was about challenging one's own skills. She commenced with her regular strategy and to goad his

troops into the open ﬁeld. When her soldiers entered the range of the archers a few of them ﬁred only a few

arrows. Her knights suffered only light losses charge went by. Same as the next four.

She began to temper her tactics against him. Max looked unfazed as her tactics began to get even more erratic.

Exhausting every other tactic she knew, she ordered her soldiers to dismount and a full scale assault on the

defensive positions. She knew she could break the men.

Her forces began to form up in long lines with spears to the front. Her opponent began to look a little concerned.

She commenced with the attack. When her soldiers entered the range of the archers a few of them ﬁred as they

had been doing. When the men almost broke upon the barricades a full barrage erupted upon her soldiers.

Followed by a second. And third. And a fourth. Her heavy infantry found themselves facing arrows that dropped

many of them in the ﬁrst two waves.

She realized her forces could not expect to take his forces head on. Her forces out of line and suffering began to

break before the volleys. Then a line of pikes came down as four lines of soldiers began a marching shield wall.

Max's forces began to erupt as his cavalry crossed the stream and began to cut off her retreat. Her own archers by

comparison to his were inadequate.

He continued the assault slaughtering her now cut off soldiers. She would not yield. His The cavalry circling

against her men, hammering them towards the pikes. She turned her forces and rallied them behind a captain to

break his lines. Unfortunately, their efforts failed but she did a fair share of damage to his army, his men an eighth

of the pikemen were now wounded or dead, and a tenth of his total cavalry. The professor called the contest. Her

opponent, now revealed as Maximus Stronghold had effectively won the tournament. Max had no loses on his

side. He did lose the soldiers, just not compared to the amount he could kill.

She could not help but ﬁnd herself smiling, she hadn't been the ﬁrst to underestimate him but neither was she the

last. But a knock on the door drought her back to reality. She gathered herself and opened the door. A ranger was

standing there, the frown on his face made her realize that she had been oblivious to the world.

"It's been a while, Dan" She said to him, "Please Come in."

"Thank you," He said words getting out of him as fast as possible, "Well, he's back."

"I heard. Is he different than when he left? You know, miserable, constantly staring over his own shoulder." She

asked him.

"He's quiet." Dan replied, "But damn does he still have something planned."

"He's always been quiet, Dan. If Max never had anything to say, he usually didn't." She told him, "So what's he

planning?"

"I don't know, Lydia." Dan responded, "He's got that look though,"

Her heart was ﬂuttering in her stomach. Only a million things ran through her mind.

"What look?" She asked, resisting the urge to yell at him.

"That look people get when they are going off to war." Dan said looking at the ship, "Whatever he's planning, it's got

him thinking of war."

Lydia stopped she could only think of when he left for war. He met her at home and told the news he got from his

captain. He was sad to be leaving but he told her that it was for the best. He left a few days later, his head held

higher than honor.

"You think he'll leave again?" She asked, her head hung low. She pictured a soldier coming home broken.

"No, he's determined to come home." He comforted, "He's got one more detail to do, then he's coming home."

The dark armored man left the base on his carriage back to the capital city. Max watched him depart from the

walls of the base. He scanned the countryside. A few houses stood apart from the forest. Drawing the heavy folds

of cloak closer to his skin. Max looked upon the ﬂag waving in the dark breeze under torchlight. Imperial Sigil of

the Cornith Marine Corps; a wolf wreathed in black ﬂames. He the dark setting around him. As midnight crawled

forwards.

Only four ships disembarked, Max noted as he paced on the walls his gaze unwavering as he passed over the

ships lining to be docked. Even under the cover of night the ship's would unload. Max would embark on a mission

to an undisclosed location via a ship called the Emperor's Revenge, a small galley. The ship was due to leave in

two hours.

Following the ﬁgure against the torchlight he walked from the walls to a small ship in the inner harbor. As he

approached the ship a guard stopped him. The ﬁgure passed a small object to him moments later the guard

handed it back and gestured for him to get on the ship. And the ship left after they got on.

Dan broke cover and walked to the edge of the dock. He could not help but wonder what Max had himself gotten

into. Dan began off to his bunk, he could only help but wonder.

Dawn's ﬁrst light would be heaven for so many others but not Lydia. She had found Dan before ﬁrst light and he

told her what he knew. Dan had left her outside the records ofﬁce. He'd gone to check out a little detail.

She watched the horizon, looking for some detail. The entire harbor was in motion, ships by the hundreds had

landed and now unloading. Ofﬁcers redirecting them throughout the camp. Faces who had known grief, pain, and

suffering. The eyes were usually the same, she noted, the color in their eyes faded as they looked into distant

horizons. Maybe if she imagined it or not was of no importance she told herself.

"Emperor's Revenge." Dan said to her.

"What?" She asked him back, "Sorry wasn't listening."

"Max left last night on the Emperor's Revenge." He told her, "It is not a vessel of the Marine Corps. It's a SMC

vessel."

"SMC?" She asked surprised, "As in Special Military Corps."

"Yeah, Max may be an operative of the most selective corps known to the military." Dan said, impressed with his

friend.

She looked even more worried now than before. She had only known one other person that was a part of that

corps and he was the Captain. The Commandant of the Soran Mountain Training Academy where Max and Lydia

went to. He wasn't unreasonable but she couldn't quite not put a ﬁnger on what was off about him.

Maximus Stronghold, SMC operant, Captain of the Cornith Imperial Marine Corps, graduated top of his class at the

SMTA. The more she looked at his credentials the more she felt inadequate. An exemplary soldier, congratulated

on several victories and perhaps a dozen awards.

Maximus watched as the sun fell, a week had passed since he left the harbor and he felt the presence of distrust

between the members of this crew and him. Even the other ofﬁcers felt distant to him. Max had expected this and

simply ignored them.

The objective was yet unknown to him, Max felt no need to inform the crew of this. He could not risk feeling even

more out of place. On the following night the captain of the ship walked up to him.

"Your mission is to scout and secure an object in the Deepwoods." He told him contemptuously, "Here are the

exact details and a hand crossbow with thirty bolts. Try not to shot yourself in the foot."

"I have more experience with weapons than you do ships, captain." Max responded, taking the hand crossbow

from him, "I cast off here."

"There's still six miles till target." He responded, surprised, "The orders say"

"The ship will be in full light then," Max told him, looking at him with the same contempt the captain had shown

him, "I'd rather stand a chance of completing this mission with the absolute minimum chances of exposure. I cast

off here."

"All right." The captain said and began relaying orders.

In ﬁve minutes Max was en route to shore in a rowboat. Max knew that the target would be farther inland but he

could not stand the ships anymore. Six months coped up with almost no real extrusion. Max spent more time

jogging the length of the ship, climbing the ropes, and lifting weights than sleeping on the damned thing.

Rowing to shore had been easy on his well toned arm muscles. Pulling the rowboat into the brush had been easy

to him as well. Max donned a set of studded leather armor and readied his heavy crossbow. He knew the heavy

crossbow was an obtrusive weapon in cramped spaces that the forest may very well provide but it felt better to

have it in his hands than not.

The Deepwoods were an extensive forest on a very large island of Deepwood. The air in between the trees felt

thick. The shade of the trees left him feeling on edge. He followed the trails left before him from some unknown

pathﬁnder.

As the day bore on, Maximus found no trace of his target. Not a single footprint.


End file.
